Now I’m trying to decide if it is better to watch a few episodes before I go to sleep or just stay up all night watching them all.

Considering I have to work tomorrow staying up may sound like a bad choice. But I figure I’ll either go to work exhausted and happy or wake up and go to work exhausted after a night of zombie nightmares.

See, I’ll be exhausted either way…so staying up isn’t _that_ selfish and irresponsible.

Plus if I don’t watch them all tonight I know I will watch more tomorrow and repeat the nightmare cycle. (My relationship with cake should be sufficient proof that I don’t have enough will power to stay away from things that are bad for me.)

Besides, wouldn’t an exhausted but happy version of me be more productive than an exhausted me for the whole week.

I was watching the Walking Dead today and I have zombies on the brain. Not literally or it would be harder to write this. No one comes back to read alhjk;awnl;; aewk;hjt9032buaekhjlf. (Totally how a zombie would type. Their dexterity leaves something to be desired.)

Anyway, sometimes people in the show die. (Not a spoiler right? I mean it’s a zombie show called The Walking Dead, the dead have to come from somewhere.)

As the body count started to rise I started thinking about how you might choose to commemorate those of your group that died while you struggle to find a zombie safe zone. I thought of a journal. One whose only entries were descriptions of the lost and how they died. “{Name} died today. They were …” Not only a great memorial but a few generations post-zombie-apocalypse it would make a compelling read… But there could be other ways. Maybe one of the survivors was a tattoo artist and could carry the faces and names of the lost permanently.

What would you do to remember your lost-to-the-horde comrades? Happy writing.

NB. There simply must be a season 5 of The Walking Dead. If there isn’t I might have to do something drastic. Like sign a petition. Or become an investment banker so I can fund a season privately. Totally a good reason to become an investment banker.

Either first class seats are getting bigger or condos are getting smaller.

Airports are fun. Flying is not fun (unless you get a first class pod…but they totally check your tickets in those sections).

It’s not that I’m really afraid of flying (much). The hypnosis really helped with that. I just hate getting stuck in a seat that would make barbie feel cramped, feet swelling from the pressure change and wondering if this flight is statistically significant…you know the one in however many million that crashes or has a pregnant lady that will go into labour and force you to land in the bustling metropolis of Oxnard where you’ll meet a man who tells you about his collection of doll shoes.

So you see my point, flying isn’t fun. But airports are. Airports are full of neat stores, restaurants and magazines you’d never take the time to read at home. They are full of people excited to be going on vacation or rushing into the arms of loved ones. And where else would you find a recombobulation area. It practically gives you permission to be discombobulated.

I think people watching is my favourite airport activity. While people watching I began to imagine my life if I were free (and rich).

I imagined going to all of the places that the lady kept announcing in her scratchy amplified voice. “Flight departing for…” Since we had checked in five hours early I had a lot of time to imagine. Then I thought, wow we checked in five hours early, I wonder what the limit is. Like, if I had a flight next month, but nothing much to do until then could I hang out in the departure area like Tom Hanks? Sure my diet would suck, but there are bathrooms and semi-comfortable benches to sleep on. There are even TVs (I bet if I had a Universal remote I could even change the channel from CNN or whatever boring thing it was stuck on). And unlike Tom Hanks I wouldn’t be stuck there. I would be airport living out of fun not necessity…with a boarding pass to prove it.

Airport Security – Ma’am did you miss your flight?

Me – Oh heavens no, that’s not for a couple of weeks yet.

Airport Security – … (after all, what do you say to that?)

Me – Do you think this tv gets AMC? I really want to see what’s happening on The Walking Dead.

But somehow I still managed to spend over five hours at the Milwaukee airport (contemplating the purchase of a cow-tipping t-shirt) and arrive home past midnight.

Note to self, midday flights are only a good idea if you have a short flight or a late hotel check-out.

In good news the long weekend was amazing. Stabby-good fun had by all.

NB. It was a fencing event so most of the stabbing was consensual in nature. I cant wait for WMAW 2015!

In other good news I invented a new game; Hunter – Moose – Semi. (It’s amazing what late night conversations and physical exhaustion do to imagination.)

It may seem familiar but it’s totally different…you see, it has a moose.

More later. Sleep now.

Writing Exercise:

When I’m in an airport I find myself wondering where people are going. The airport is a great place to people watch and on this trip I found myself watching people and wondering where they were going and why they were traveling. (Reading cow-tipping t-shirts and trying on cheese hats can only keep you occupied for so long. BTW…Nothing tips like a cow.)

On this trip I watched a young couple that seemed rather out of place in Milwaukee. (He was a gangly young man with scraggly long hair. She was a shy looking Asian girl carrying a round carry-on bag that looked like a saucer sled.) They were very much in love but I couldn’t picture either of them in a cheese hat so they were the perfect couple for me to watch and wonder about. I came up with a whole story about why they were traveling. (He had just received a music scholarship. They couldn’t stand the thought of parting after a five year courtship through high school. She had convinced him to give up the goth make-up but he wouldn’t cut his hair. The crazy sled was actually an instrument he had built himself. Watch out world.)

What do you think they were doing? Write the story of how this couple ended up waiting for a flight the heck out of Milwaukee.

On the weekend I had a few people over to learn the art of the perogie. We made about 36 dozen (give or take a dozen…you know, no big deal). This post is fulfilling my promise to make the recipe we used available to all of my lovely guests. Thanks for a fun day lovely guests.

NB. My guests asked how to spell perogie and I had to admit that I have no idea what the correct spelling is… I use perogie and perogies but I’ve seen pyrogie, pirogy, pergoy, pierogi…

The amount of flower depends on the humidity, elevation and other things I don’t understand. (I think the number of gnomes that live in your garden are involved in the equation.) Just keep adding flower until it feels right.

Did you ever have your grandmother say “I don’t know how much flower (or whatever) I use to make the recipe dear” and think they were just trying to make it look hard, or easy, or whatever made you feel worst? Same kind of thing. Except I’m not trying to emotionally manipulate you (this time) it’s just how you make perogies.

The perogie “feel” is why it’s best to have someone show you how to make dough the first time so you can feel a sample then try to replicate that feel.

(I married into the world of perogies so this part took me a while to learn. I’m sure if I was born to the craft I would have had some sort of innate feel for it but a very patient mother-in-law made sure I got it right in the end…so her boy wouldn’t have to suffer through a married life bereft of carbs wrapped in carbs.)

When the dough gets too stiff to stir with the spoon it’s time to get your hands dirty. (Clean them first though. Pre-dirty hands are gross. Do I need to say that? Well I did. Ew.) This part takes a while. Keep kneading the dough to activate the gluten and work all the flower in. It should be tacky, but not sticky when you’re done.

Great work guys! Keep going.

Put the dough in a covered bowl and set it aside. (To prevent the dough from drying use a damp cloth to cover the bowl or wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge.) Dough can last in the fridge for up to three days but should really be used within 24 hours. Or, you can put it in sealed plastic bag (no air) and freeze the dough for later use.

(Frozen dough can last 6 months in the freezer. It may be longer. I’ve always used it within six months. For all I know frozen perogy dough lasts forever; it might be the Twinkie of eastern Europe. Mmmm, I want a Twinkie.)

Perogie dough is best when it has rested over-night so I had several batches of dough pre-made like a cooking show. “Ding! Let’s see how it turned out.”

When the dough has rested it’s time to roll. Take a small piece of the dough and roll it flat, adding flower and flipping regularly to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. The dough should be thin but not transparent.

When you have a nice flat piece of dough, use a circular cookie cutter (or old can of Campbell’s soup concentrate, they are the perfect size) to cut circles from the dough.

Place a small amount of filling into the centre of the perogie.

Don’t over fill. If filing gets in the area to be sealed, the perogie will break apart in the water and give you perogie soup.

Fold the edges over.

And, pinch the edges closed. To make sure the perogies don’t fly open while boiling, make sure that the seal at the edge of the perogie is not visible. (The pretty pinched edge and perfect perogie shape come with time. Don’t be discouraged if your first several hundred turn out looking like perogie blob creatures, they’ll still taste good.)

Lay the perogies on a clean cloth or parchment paper on a cookie tray or other flat surface that will fit in your freezer. (Fresh perogies stick together easily so do not allow the perogies to tough each other.) Cover with a slightly damp cloth and repeat until you have a full tray then pop them in the freezer.

Ready for the freezer. Or the pot!

Once frozen solid, perogies can be removed from the tray and bagged by the dozen or two or more. (Use freezer bags and be sure to remove all of the air to preserve the perogie at its best.)

Hot!

When you’re ready to eat, take the perogies out of the freezer and drop them directly into boiling water. After about two minutes (at a rolling boil) the perogies are ready. Drain the water and add some oil to prevent a perogies-sticking-together mess. Serve with fried onions and sour cream. Yum. (Note, fresh perogies can be boiled and served the same way.)

Be sure to make extra. Day old perogies are best fried with onions. Mmmmm.

Filling:

Potato and cheese perogies are generally made with mashed potatoes. I use grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, onions fried in butter, garlic power, salt and pepper to taste. It works best if you make the mixture in advance and chill it before use.